Shock-absorber for vehicles.



M. J. KIRBY.

SHOCK ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES.

APPLlCATl0N f|LED JUNE 22, 1914.

1,166,604. Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

:zae aza:

COLUMBIA FLANOURAPH CD.,WASHINGTON. D 1

MAURICE J. KIRIBY, OF- oINcINNA'rLoHIo, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO ANTHONYM.

sAUEIaor CINCINNATI, 0111c.

SHOCK-ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters- Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 191.6.

Application filed June 22, 1914. Serial No, 846,413.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MAURICE J. K1RBY,a

citizen of the United States of America, and.

resident of Cincinnati, county of Hamilton State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Shock-Absorbers for Vehicles, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to shock absorbers for vehicles and has for anobject to produce a shock absorber which will not only absorb shockstending to cause movement ofthe vehicle body and running gear toward oneanother but also to produce a shock-absorber which will absorb. shockscaused by the rebound or reaction of the. vehicle springs, in

which the tendency of thevehicle body, and

the running gear 18130 move apart relatively to one another.

'A further object is to produce a: shock absorber in whichimproved-means are em-. ployed for renewing the resilient members andfor varying the degreezof resiliency of these members.

These and other objects are attained in the device described in thefollowing specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich Figure 1 is a side'elevation of my shock absorber attached to thebody and running gear springs of a vehicle. Fig. 2 isia front elevationof my shock absorber, looking in the direction indicated by the arrowinFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmental sectional; view taken on line 3'3 of Fig.2. Figs. 4 and 5 arefragmental side elevations ofthe operative portionslocated at the top of my device and showing these portions-occupyingdifferent operative positions with relation to one another. Figs. 6, 7,8 and 9 areviews of details of my invention.

The device illustratedconsistsof a cylin; der 10 which is closed at itslower end bymeans of a cap 11 and is provided at its upper end with acollar 12 which{ is screwed on to the upper end of the cylinder 10 andis provided with an inturneclrim'13, shaped much after the .manner" ofthe ordinary clencher rims for pneumatic tires. This collar 12 is alsoprovided with lugs 14. into which upwardly extending bolts 15arerscrewed in order to carry the spring engaging and other operatingparts of. the-device. Within the cylinderlO a pneumatic cushion 16 isprovided. This pneumatic cushion cons sts ofa hemispherical compressionmember 17 having a beaded. edge 18 adapted. to engage the clencher rim13 of the collar 12, an inner tube 19 which is provided with a valve 20whereby the inner tube may be inflated to expand it withinthe cylinder10 and com pression member 17. The inner tube.19 is preferably made ofrubber in much the same manner that the inner tubes ofautomobile tiresare made, and the hemispherical member 17 is made of rubberreinforcedwith fabric or. similar material in much the same manner thatthe casings of pneumatic tires are made. I have providedarubber gasket41 located at thebottom of'the cylinder 10 and resting upon the head 11,for the purposeof preventing pinching or cracking of the material of theinner tube. In addition toith is I have provided a bevel face 10 at theupperv end of the cylinder 10.so that the lowen point of theclencher'bead l8'of the member 17 may beheld in position as shown inFig.3, thereby preventing disengagement of the bead from the clencher rim 18of the collar l2.

Engaging the upwardly extending bolts 15 is a plate 21 which is providedwith lugs 22 having apertures 23 adapted to engage the bolts and toreciprocate thereon. A. hemispherical extension 24 is provided on theplate 21 for the purpose of contacting the surface of the compressionmember 17 Thisplate. is also provided with a block 25 which, in effectforms av seat for the bolt engaging end of the vehicle spring 26.Mounted on bolts 15 above the plate 21 are vertically extending plates27 which are provided with. lugs 28 having apertures 29 locatedthereinfor the purpose of engaging the bolts. These plates are locatedadjacent tothe sides 25' and 25 of the block 25, but

plates in position, the slots 32 and 35 will register with one anotherand the slots 31 and apertures 36 will register with one another, sothat bolt 33 carrying the end of spring 26 will occupy slots 32 and 35and bolt 34 carrying the end of spring 37 will occupy slots 31 andapertures 36. It will thus be seen that when the vehicle running gear issubjected to a force which tends to lift it relatively to the body ofthe vehicle, the parts will be brought to the position illustrated inFig. 4 in which spring 37 has moved upwardly with relation to spring 26,thereby causing bolt 34 which is normally in engagement with the top ofslot 31, to lift plate 27 and cylinder 10, by being brought intoengagement with the nuts 38 provided on bolts 15. Spring 26 in thisposition will be caused to engage the curved face 25 of the block 25,thereby preventing plate 21 from moving upwardly when the cylinder 10 islifted by plates 27. This action causes hemispherical projection 24 tocompress member 17, thereby compressing the air contained in inner tube19 and absorbing the shock caused by such action. When the parts havebeen subjected to a force causing them to occupy the position shown inFig. 4, it is usual for the reaction of the springs to cause the body ofthe vehicle to rebound with a tendency to break the springs and to leavethe running gear. This action is prevented in my device by the reverseaction of the plates 27 and 30 which will be brought to occupy thepositions shown in Fig. 5, by means of bolts 33 34 located on the endsof the springs. In this position the spring 26 has brought bolt 33 toengage the upper ends of slots 32 in plates 27, and bolt 34, occupyingapertures 36 in plates 30, is caused to force plate 21 downwardly whileplates 27 are being moved upwardly to lift cylinder 10. This actionproduces compression of hemispherical member 17 and the air contained ininner tube 19, thereby effecting absorption of the shock occasioned bythe rebound of the vehicle body and reaction of springs 26 and 37.

In the drawings I have illustrated my device attached to the body andrunning gear springs located at the rear of the veh1- cle, but it is tobe understood that this device is also intended to be attached to thefront springs of the vehicle as well as the rear springs for the purposeof absorbing shocks sustained by the front portions of the vehicle aswell as the rear portions. In some vehicle constructions it will benecessary toattach the shock absorber in such a manner that one or theother of the bolts 33 and 34 are attached directly to the frame of thevehicle instead of to the spring as in other constructions. In this casethe other of the bolts will of course be attached to the end of thespring which is usually attached to the end of the frame.

In order to facilitate operation of the device and to eliminate frictionand consequent wear I have provided rollers 39 and 40 which are locatedat opposite ends of the bolts 33 and 34 and engage the slots 31, 32, 35and apertures 36, so that when the plates 27 and 30 move relatively toone another and when the bolts 33, 34 move in the slots, the rollers 39and 40 will roll over the edges of the slots and prevent the plates frombecoming worn.

It will thus be seen that my device will absorb shocks which are causedby the vehicie wheels encountering obstructions or unevenness 1n theroad surface as well as to absorb shocks occasioned by the rebound ofthe vehicle body and the recoil of springs 26 and 37.

Since I have constructed the resilient member of my shock absorber afterthe manner of clencher pneumatic tires in which the casing is secured bymeans of a bead engaging a clencher rim and in which an inflated innertube is provided, it will be seen that these parts may be readilyrenewed when they burst or wear out and in which they may be as readilyrepaired as the casing and inner tube of an ordinary pneumaticautomobile tire. In addition to this it will be seen that the degree ofresiliency may be varied by increasing or de creasing the air pressure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is;

1. A shock absorber comprising an air cylinder closed at one end, anelastic hemispherical member adapted to close the opposite end of thecylinder, guide bars secured to the cylinder and extending to a pointbeyond the hemispherical member, a compression plate reciprocallymounted on the rods in contact with the member and adapted to bereciprocated thereon to compress the member, plates having slots formedtherein mounted on the rods with their lower ends normally in contactwith the compression plate, a second set of plates having slots formedtherein, located adjacent to the plates of the first set, with the slotsof both sets in registration, and means engaging the slots of both setsoperatively connected with the relatively movable vehicle running gearand body, adapted to cause relative movement of the plates, whereby thecompression plate will be caused to compress the hemispherical memberupon relative movement in either direction of the vehicle running gearand body.

2. In a shock absorber for vehicles, the combination of a resilientmember, a support for said resilient member, guide bars extending fromthe support to a point above the resilient 'member,a compression platereciprocally mounted on the guide bars in contact with the resilientmember, a set of plates connected with the guide rods and normallyhaving their ends in engagement with the compression plate, each of saidplates having two elongated superimposed.

slots, a second set of plates located adjacent to the plates of thefirst set, with their lower ends engaging the compression plate, eachplate of said second set having an elongated slot formed therein at itslower end, adapted to register with the elongated slot at the lower endof its cooperating plate of the first set, and at its upper end having acircular aperture adapted to register with the elongated slot at theupper end of its cooperating plate of the first set, a bolt engaging theslots formed at the lower ends of the plates of both sets and Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for connected with either the running gearpor tion or the body portion of the vehicle, and

a bolt engaging the slots and circular aper- In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto subscribed my name this 8th day of June,

MAURICE J. KIRBY. Witnesses:

WALTER F. MURRAY, W. THORNTON BOGERT.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,.D. G.

